I put that in quotes because I guarantee those were the exact words shouted, whispered in awe or uttered from father to son accompanied by a hearty back slap last night at 2153 EST.

And it’s true. With a shutout just moments away and the memory of watching Chris Osgood start seven consecutive games still very fresh in his cluttered mind, our Czech Miracle of Insanity returned to his sociopathic self and gave us a wakeup call. I’m almost shocked he didn’t point at the cameras after his takedown of Gaborik and say…

What is the infatuation with this kid? Who in the organization is so tied to him that we can’t jettison him? Is Hudler better than Rem Murray or Boyd Devereaux…two players the Wings passed on the last two training camps? Can anyone tell me Hudler fits into the Babcock system…at all?

At what point does wasting a roster spot on his potential become too cumbersome?

Through 25 games last year? 4 points, all goals. I had lit the torches. Lit them, ran with them through the village. “Hudler must go,” I said.

Stu Nahan, in the second round of the second Balboa/Creed fight, said, “...and I thought Balboa took a beating the first time these two fought but this is a butchering. That’s what it is, plain old butchering.” Rocky, of course, eventually wore the Master of Disaster down, waited until the 13th to break a few more of his ribs, then miraculously rose to his feet as the Spectrum crowd sobbed in joy. It was, as Rocky would tell you, the greatest moment of his life—with the exception of his kid being born.

Last night was, as Stu would tell you, a butchering from start to finish. Every facet. Every shift. San Jose can go 65 and 5 the rest of the way, but they’re not beating Detroit in a playoff series. Not after last May and not after last night.

Yes, we’re going to make it official. Name the Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Homer line. Send in your suggestions and we’ll vote and happiness will ensue, as usual. What do you get? Why does it always have to be about “getting something”? You get the warmth that accompanies seeing your brilliance used again and again within the cozy confines of A2Y.

Kris Draper’s a frigging rebel. On a night when the boxscore could have made an emphatic statement, he had to go and throw a shorty in there. If not for his unassisted goal in the second the entire scoresheet would have been dominated by the to this point unnamed Zetterberg, Homer and Datsyuk line.

First a few congratulations are in order. Gramps is back. Grampa Pinhead, who has served as the A2Y logic czar since our inception a few years ago, has brought back his own blog: HockeytownTodd. If you’re familiar with Gramps’ comments at our site, you know he’s traditional, cranky and caustic. Great reading and always a source for stats you won’t find anywhere else.

It won’t be just a local story this time. Nope. The Wing win last night, as fun as it was to see, will be secondary to the echo chamber they played in. As Mike Emrich and Ed Olczyk did their pre-game deal on camera, the results of Red Wing apathy jumped out at us on Versus. A thousand empty seats just minutes before faceoff.

So prepare yourselves because that’s going to be the story today. When Detroit can’t fill the Joe on opening night against a team that barely beat us in the conference final…well, just stand by.

I’ve decided I don’t like the term “blogosphere” anymore. Kind of like “Michigander” or “diet”. Not real fond of those two either. So, this will be the last time you see it at A2Y. Henceforth and thusly, any time I present to you a conglomeration of views in one sloppy post I will title it “Stealing From My Friends”.

I sense that you are apprehensive. Apprehensive like a transvestite Dive fan caught in Raleigh at 0130 on a Tuesday? No, but understandably wary. Me too. Here we go.

Oh alright. No, he didn’t actually say that. But James Mirtle, writing for AOL’s Fan House, agrees with all other smart people in saying it would take some sort of wacked-out science fiction scenario to keep the Central crown out of Hockeytown.

Detroit may remain an old team by NHL standards, but that’s not going to stop them from winning a seventh consecutive Central Division title. Given the league’s ridiculously unbalanced schedule, one that will see the Red Wings face Chicago/Columbus/Nashville/St. Louis 32 times this season, it’s going to be relatively easy pickings as long as Hasek remains healthy.

It’s been nearly two years since we came up with the blog title, “Abel to Yzerman.” For most of you, the significance of that has been pretty clear. “Abel” refers to Wing legend Sid Abel. “Yzerman” is our tribute to a little-known role player who somehow eeked his way onto the Detroit roster for 23 consecutive seasons.

As part of the site’s re-design, I canvassed the 9 A2Y regulars. I emailed each one claiming I was the widow of a deposed Liberian dictator and that I had millions to place in their bank accounts for safe keeping until I could retrieve it. Naturally, each regular responded quickly with their account information. I plan to embezzle twenty dollars from each and send the money directly to Dwayne Klessel so that I can have access to only the hottest rumors.

I also listened to them when they said they wanted more info on Wing prospects, that fans in Hockeytown are hungry for news from TC. Actually, I haven’t canvassed anyone, no one’s said a word to me about more news on the prospects and that number is really 8, not 9.